


On the Road, On a Search

by Galdr



Series: Tales of the Mystery Dungeons AU [4]
Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Explorers of Darkness & Explorers of Sky, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Gen, Gen 7 Pokemon are in this too, Other Pokemon appear but I won't list them all, Worldbuilding, also OC village for plot purposes, and their dungeons, mentions of an OC Exploration Team, merging maps of both PMD T/D/S and Super, rating went up due to a tiny bit of swearing, they only appear for a short while and help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 20:34:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19180906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galdr/pseuds/Galdr
Summary: While traveling with Flynn, Yuri learns how to adapt to his new form.Meanwhile, another traveler enlists the help of a former Exploration Team-turned-Guildmaster pair for an important search matter.





	On the Road, On a Search

_“We’ll need to venture through Lush Prairie first and then to Oran Forest.”_

Yuri glanced up and spotted a few clouds in the sky. The two of them had left Treasure Town fifteen minutes ago and were on their way to their first dungeon in Flynn’s route plan. Said Pikachu was walking in front of Yuri, occasionally glancing at the map and the path ahead of him, making sure they were going the right way. This would be Yuri’s first time out of the town and into a mystery dungeon. To be frank, he wasn’t afraid of what was in store. Rather, he was interested in them and what would be there. When he thought of “dungeon”, he mostly thought about prison cells. They were on their way to the Lush Prairie, as Flynn mentioned earlier, with this Oran Forest being second.

_“After we cross through Oran Forest, it’s pretty much a straightforward path towards Capim Town. That is, if we don’t take the wrong turn and end up in the Fresh Meadow.”_

Having heard that earlier from Flynn, Yuri had inquired about it and got quite the chilling answer.

_“It’s a super difficult mystery dungeon; the wild and feral Pokémon that live there are extremely brutal and territorial. They could kill you in a heartbeat if you’re underprepared, underpowered and aren’t careful. Only the strongest Exploration Teams go there. It’s just that tough and we should avoid it all costs, especially with how new things are for you, Yuri.”_

Right, note to self then: avoid the Fresh Meadow mystery dungeon, Yuri had told himself. He hoped Flynn’s bad luck at reading the map wouldn’t throw them right into the heart of that mystery dungeon. It was strange that he couldn’t read the language written on the map. Flynn had said they were in footprints whatever the heck that meant. Then again, considering his claimed origins, it’d make sense to Yuri that he couldn’t decipher it. Not yet, for that matter. He was sure being in this body would adapt to it sooner or later.

It wasn’t long until the grassy terrain they were walking on divided up and became a tad thicker underneath. The path leading forward was like some entrance to someplace, with smooth paths lined around with darker brushes and patches alongside, creating what seemed to be strange “hallways” in the open field.

This was either the dungeon itself or they were getting close to it.

“Here it is, the Lush Prairie,” Flynn announced as he closed the map and stored it into his bag, “Majority of the enemies we’ll encounter here are Bug and Grass types. Also,” the Pikachu turned to the Riolu, “be very wary of the move Bug Bite! The Bug-types that use them can steal a food item out of your bag if you’re not careful. Not only does that hurt you if they attack with it, but it’s beats getting some food items stolen that you could use later on. Although, with the meadow being a mystery dungeon, we could likely find more food items like apples, berries and seeds plenty. We’ll just have to keep a lookout for them.”

Some of that was partly confusing for Yuri, like wondering how a bug’s bite could steal food from him, but he decided not to press it. Instead, he just nodded. Satisfied, Flynn turned around and began leading them in.

“Alright, here we go!”

The pair entered the dungeon together and soon as he was steps inside, Yuri’s sensors activated, his eyes closing automatically. Something—something was coming? What?

“I can sense the way from here,” Flynn spoke up, “Let’s go this way—huh?” He paused immediately when he saw Yuri concentrating. “What’s up?”

“The hell, Flynn? I don’t know what’s going on,” Yuri grumbled as he put a paw to his head, “Something’s coming and I think I can see it with… the Aura thing. But I don’t know why I’m getting a headache all of a sudden!”

The Pikachu tilted his head in wonder at this. He wasn’t exactly privy on the Riolu species since they lived so far away. Was it normal for Riolu to have this much extrasensory abilities with their Aura? He wasn’t certain at all and didn’t want to make inaccurate guesses.

“You can sense things coming? Like, other Pokémon?”

“Yeah,” Yuri muttered out, gripping his head and gnashing his teeth together. Ugh, it was like a killer migraine at this point and he doubted that this was normal. “There’s one… coming now!” He sure as hell didn’t know what it was, either. Flynn whipped around in an instant, seeing the enemy Pokémon appear from one of the “hallways” of the dungeon’s paths. It had a red body with buzzing wings and a green face.

“Oh, a Yamna!” Flynn exclaimed. Yuri managed to open his eyes, seeing the new Pokémon and Flynn immediately stepping in front. “It’s a Bug and Flying type, so be careful, Yuri!”

The Clear Wing Pokémon buzzed angrily and attacked using a move that insanely fast, Quick Attack! It zipped towards them and hit Flynn square in the chest, causing the Pikachu to stumble backwards. It zipped away and was about to go for another hit! Yuri wanted to do _something_ but he had no idea how to fight in this body. Damn!

Flynn’s body gave off an electrical spark as electricity built up in the cheek pouches on the sides of his face, to Yuri’s slight surprise. He had no idea that his new friend could generate power like that. “It’s really fast, so we have to be cautious with it using Quick Attack!”

“Wait, what can I do?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll beat it!”

Yuri huffed at that as he watched Flynn dash over to the feral Yamna, running on all fours to increase his speed. The Pokémon went in for another Quick Attack, becoming a green and red blur. However, Flynn was matching its speed with his own use of Quick Attack. The two were effectively dancing around each other, trying to land a hit. The enemy Yamna was successful in striking Flynn again, but this time, he retaliated with a built up electric attack.

“ _Thunderbolt!_ ” The Electric-type exclaimed, using said move. It was a super effective hit, but the Yamna wasn’t quite done, yet!

It unleashed another move that Yuri didn’t know what it was, but it looked like three white waves of energy!

It was Sonicboom!

Flynn quickly evaded the attack, the Sonicboom struck the ground where he’d been instead. The Pikachu charged up another attack and lunged with another Quick Attack, slamming his body into the enemy Pokémon and knocking it down. It was weakening and likely on low health, but it was still trying to attack. It went in for its own lunge, using Tackle to knock Flynn away. Next, it used its quickened speed to zip past Flynn and went straight for the Riolu!

“Yuri, watch out!” Flynn warned and rushed to his aid, but knew he wouldn’t be able to make it.

A bit stunned though not afraid, Yuri braced himself for the incoming attack, crossing his arms over himself and, not disappointed, he was knocked aside by the next Tackle attack. With a grunt, he went down but quickly balanced himself on his right paw to situate himself upright again.

“Alright! Time to get to business!” He exclaimed. There was something almost thrilling about being able to fight now. He wasn’t sure why this was, but he was going along with it. Following these instincts, Yuri flew into a stance and felt oddly comfortable with it; left paw up aligned as if he were holding something over his shoulder, his right lying by his side, and his legs slightly apart. This was odd, but he found that it was _right_ , but that something was also _missing_. He wasn’t sure what it was, but now wasn’t the time.

With this peculiar stance, he dashed to the Bug and Flying-type, attacking the Yamna with a few, rapid punching jabs with his right in succession! The Yamna was sent away with numerous wounds. The thing was struggling to get up and it managed, aiming another Quick Attack at Yuri, who was the closest.

“Ugh!” Yuri groaned when it made a direct hit, stumbling back from it and skidding a bit on his feet. Oh, that was it, this Pokémon was going to get it this time—

“ _Thunderbolt!_ ” Flynn shouted again as he jumped into the air and zapped the wild Yamna, effectively knocking it out for good.

—well, if Flynn hadn’t shown up and handled it, that was. The Pikachu landed on his feet and examined the fallen Yamna, satisfied it was fully downed and turned to Yuri. “Are you alright?” He asked.

Slowly, Yuri relaxed out of his stance, all the tension in his muscles vanished as well as the urge to fight. His sensors even lowered back to normal. “Yeah,” he replied, slightly wincing from the mild pain he endured from the Yamna’s assault. “Didn’t think a Pokémon like that could pack a punch like that.” Yuri glanced at his paws, “But, I hardly did any damage to it when I attacked it.”

“You weren’t using an actual technique to attack it with. You were using just a normal attack,” Flynn clarified.

“How am I supposed to know how to use any of these ‘techniques’? Or, how do I know I even have any in the first place? Does it, like, come naturally or something?”

“It should. Every Pokémon has an instinct to use techniques they already know, although we still have to train ourselves to memorize them.” Flynn tilted his head, “But seeing as you’re… or were human, I guess your fighting instinct must be different than a Pokémon’s. I mean, you did jump into a stance, but it wasn’t like anything I’ve seen before. Then again, it could be a _Riolu_ _and Lucario_ thing, but who knows?”

Yuri shrugged uncertainly, not knowing the answer for himself. Grey and blue eyes met before Flynn closed his eyes. Curiosity killed cats, but Yuri wasn’t one, and he had to ask.

“What are you doing?”

“Using a technique.”

Flynn opened his eyes and lifted his arms skyward as what appeared to be a shooting star going across the sky above them. Yuri had seen it, and then soon, a healing energy seeped into him. H-huh?

“What the-?” Yuri wondered and noticed the same energy was washing over Flynn, too. It soon ended as it came. “What was that-?”

“I used Wish. It’s a technique I know. It heals me and any of my allies, although I don’t really use it often. It’s pretty rare for Pikachu to have this move, but some can be born with it.”

“…So, you were born with yours?”

Flynn paused, giving the question a once over before slowly nodding. “Yeah, I was,” he answered and then quietly added, “…I think,” to himself. “I don’t like to have attention on me, so I don’t always use it. Only when I absolutely need to. I used it here so we wouldn’t waste our Oran Berries. We should save those for later.”

Ah, that made sense. Although, Yuri wasn’t sure how a “wish” could heal things, but he assumed it was the magic and energy in Pokémon that allowed them to do these things normally. That made he and Flynn similar; Yuri wanted to avoid attention and refrained from mentioning being human to others outside of Flynn while the latter wanted to hide his ability to use a healing technique from others. Besides him, that is. Maybe they really trusted one another that quickily and easily, huh?

“Anyway… We should work on your skills and using techs, Yuri. You look pretty strong so you should know at least one move. I’ll help you along the way.”

“Sounds like a plan, but I think we should get going, right? Before that thing wakes up?” He indicated to the fallen Yamna not too far from them.

Flynn nodded. “Right, let’s go. I can still sense the way out of here, so let’s go this way.”

The rest of the dungeon after that didn’t seem that bad, Yuri would admit to himself. It was green… pretty much everywhere. The next enemy Pokémon they came across were these butterfly looking Pokémon that Flynn called Beautifly. They were Bug and Flying type too, which meant that Flynn had a type advantage over them while Yuri certainly _did not_. He’d learned his lesson from the earlier episode of the Yamna, but he still needed to train his body to adapt. Plus, with that weird stance he used, he’d have to utilize it and hone his skills. There were also more things that needed answering that Yuri wanted to touch up on. It wasn’t going to be easy, but Flynn promised to be helpful and had an abundance of patience.

Patience that Yuri was going to count on for the remainder of their time spent in the dungeons, that is.

 

* * *

**Elsewhere - Grass Continent**

* * *

 

The new morning had arrived into the world of Pokémon, bringing with it a brand new day for adventure. For one lone Pokémon out in the wilderness, it was also another day for his long venture out to explore. He’d been on this long journey of his for months, searching, searching and searching for someone important to him. He wasn’t entirely sure if he’d find them this time; he’d been all over the Air Continent prior with no results. The ones he searched for weren’t there. No one had ever heard of them before, and so his search had went back to square one.

His lone, green eye sharply scanned his surroundings before he moved on. Using his nose, he breathed in the crisp, morning air, sighing to himself as he sauntered through the Apple Woods. There were many bushes around and he had to constantly shake them out of his blue fur.

He’d been in the Grass Continent for around a month and a half now, having arrived from the Lapras Liner from the Air Continent several weeks ago. He hadn’t truly stopped except in Capim Town to restock on items, check to see if there were any posting or sightings of missing Pokémon, gathered any information he could and set off. Besides the Wigglytuff Guild back in Treasure Town, he’d rather not go request for help _just yet_. Even so, he’d rather try to set up with an appointment with the new guild that’s begun to start their own in a relatively small and budding new village just beyond the Apple Woods.

It was mostly out of preference; the less who knew _whom_ he was looking for and why, the better. Besides, from what he was ultimately trying to seize as his final goal, the apparent owners of the new guild should be quite experienced in such a field.

Alas, that wasn’t his true destination yet, but he had an idea to stop there and see how it was coming along; since he was in the area, a short detour wouldn’t hurt. He also  _might_ gather more information worthy for his search. Deciding on that and perhaps a quick meal and supplies check, he switched directions, following his nose and his map that he halfway pulled out of his satchel with his teeth, gently of course.

After traversing for a while longer, he finally found the structured path from Apple Woods to the village in question. Spying the sign, he read the it: **_Welcome to Idyll Village!_**

Stepping through the modest arch, he felt he was immediately in the village’s cosset. He was in the village’s labeled _piazza_ , the public square where it appeared to be used as a temporary holding place for several materials being lined up. Wood, stones, mud in pails and numerous Pokémon working together to build homes in the village. There were Pokémon of all types and species here, working in harmony. Those that worked the materials into the foundation of the ground and others that carried them.

Looking around, the visiting Pokémon spied that there were other establishments already set up: a few homes to those that looked like elderly Pokémon and what appeared to be the village’s marketplace. Overall, it wasn't too large yet but it was budding just fine. The only thing was the lack of this apparent guild. He saw several tents pitched, however. Were they perhaps too busy elsewhere?

“Hello there! Welcome to the Village of Idyll!” A male voice addressed him. Glancing forward, he saw a healthy, but rather young looking Chimchar—likely a kid, he thought to himself—coming towards him, carrying two pieces of lumber, one piece each under both of his arms. “Are you new here, stranger?”

The visiting Pokémon nodded quietly.

“Awesome! That’s great! I’d greet you properly but as you can see, I’ve got my hands full, heh-heh,” the kid Pokémon babbled on with a chuckle. “Anyway! You’re welcome to come in and visit! I should tell my Pops that a guest is here!” The young Chimchar quickly dropped the conversation and ran off to the left in excitement. The visitor quirked a brow at that and chalked it up to kids being kids. He didn’t have to wait long because the Chimchar was returning—without the two logs under his arms—and bouncing around a Raichu who was coming his way now. He was wearing a white scarf around his neck, notably.

“Here he is, Pops! Just like I told you!” The Chimp Pokémon chirped giddily as he hopped in place and pointing at the guest.

“I see. Thank you, son. Why don’t you go help your mother and brother with the construction work while I make our guest at home?”

“Sure, Pops!” The Chimchar agreed readily and obediently hurried off back to the left again. The visitor chuckled quietly to himself at him and not so surprisingly, so did the Raichu.

“Boy’s a handful sometimes, but he’s a good kid,” he said before turning to the visitor, “Anyway, as I’m sure you’ve heard already, welcome to Idyll. I’m Raichu of Team Apsis.”

Team Apsis? That was quite familiar, in fact. Master Rank Exploration Team and one of the best, up there with Team Raider and Team Charm, the famous treasure hunters. Huh, what were they doing here, then? On assignment, perhaps? And, apparently with his son? The unasked question must have been noticeable as the obvious quizzical expression on his face told it all to Raichu.

“We’re stationed at Treasure Town, but we took on this job, hired by the guildmasters of the upcoming Vritra Guild to help assist in building,” he answered, clearing up any inquiries about that tidbit, “My partner—my wife—is also here with our children. They wouldn’t sit still and insisted to come with, so we brought them along.” He chuckled a little before turning his attention back to the guest, “Anyway, that’s enough about me. What’s your name, friend?”

“Lycanroc,” he answered, his voice soft. He did have a name, but he was always told that he should only reveal it to others he truly trusted. A Pokémon’s true name is secretive after all.

“Good to meet you, Lycanroc! Now, come on. I’ll show you around the village. You seem to be busy, so I won’t be long.”

At least the Electric-type could sense that he wasn’t going to be staying long. However the Raichu figured it out, he didn’t mind. “I apologize. I’m only here for information,” he said, forgoing getting anything to eat and stocking on supplies. Though he’d be delighted if he could, he wouldn’t take from their supplies, especially if they needed every single resource to their cause of building the town. He wasn’t _that_ desperate.

“That’s alright. I can take you directly to the guildmasters, if you’d like?”

“Yes, if you do not mind.”

“Not at all. This way.”

Their quaint walk to the construction site was short and quick, coupled with a companionable silence, if only peppered with a few questions here and there. The small talk was pleasant and informative. A short while later, Raichu led Lycanroc towards two Pokémon who were handling things with what seemed to be instructions and blueprints on hand. One was a pink, quadrupled Pokémon and another was a blue, bipedal Pokémon that was holding the parchments of paper. Raichu stopped not too far away from them and cleared his throat to catch their attention.

“Sylveon, Lucario! You two have a guest,” Raichu announced, watching as both Pokémon turned around to face them. The first one, Sylveon, had a pair of eyewear on her face and a charm around her neck. The second one, Lucario, had a ring-band around his left wrist, just above the metal spike. The two smiled at Lycanroc and Raichu in sync; even their breathing seemed in sync.

“Hello Raichu, and hello to you too, sir. Are you our guest?” Sylveon asked politely.

“Yes. I am Lycanroc. I’ve come by to gather information and Raichu here has directed me to you. In my personal opinion, I believe you two would be the most helpful in assisting me with said information gathering and for the reason I’ve come here.” He glanced at the two of them, “In fact, you two would possibly be the _only_ ones I can come to for this.”

Lucario tilted his head while Sylveon mulled over it for a second. “Us? Is this a serious situation involving something that you only want us to know?”

“…Yes, I’m afraid,” Lycanroc answered. He hadn’t meant to come out like this, but he was naturally going with the flow of it. The sooner he could ask and give them the information, and hopefully some back, he could be on the road again, searching.

The pair nodded in understanding and Sylveon beckoned Lycanroc to go with her while Lucario gave Raichu the papers he had on hand along with instructions. They’d be gone temporarily, so construction should be going along smoothly as it should. He quickly followed after them as Sylveon entered a tent, Lycanroc right behind her and Lucario tailing just after him. Soon as all three were secured inside, Lucario manipulated his Aura and spread it throughout the tent; there was a notable, translucent blue barrier around them all, mimicking the shape of the interior.

“…Was that Aura?” Lycanroc wondered curiously.

“Yes. This is the most efficient way to seal sound inside of the tent,” Lucario answered, “I’ve manipulated my Aura in such a way that I’ve blocked sound waves. It won’t block _all_ sounds, especially those that have abilities and techniques that could potentially bypass—but for the most part, we’re muffled to outsiders listening in.”

Satisfied with the response, Lycanroc focused on Sylveon, who was joined by Lucario walking up and standing beside her.

“So, what is it that you need our help with, Lycanroc?” Sylveon asked, using her ribbon-like feelers to gently remove the spectacles from her face and sitting atop her head. What could they possibly have that is essential to helping this Pokémon? Even if they didn’t specifically have it, she knew that her partner would still insist to help regardless of their limitations.

Seeing that as his cue to speak again, Lycanroc picked it up from there, “First, I want to be honest. I know of your accomplishments, Team Vritra. I’ve heard of them while traveling from the Air Continent and especially when I arrived at Capim Town. It may have been well over fifteen years ago, but your bravery is something worthy of a mention and expression of gratitude.” The pair blushed in embarrassment for a few seconds before it faded.

“Thank you. But, to be honest with ourselves, we did what we could,” Lucario was next to speak, “We…” He paused with a sad expression and sigh, “We finished a mission a friend of ours entrusted to us, that’s all. We tagged along, and there is a lot of missed credit here, but...” Sylveon, understandably, was silent through that as Lucario had trailed off. She had lowered her head somewhat to compose herself. It’d been too long since that day, but at the same time, it was like it all happened yesterday for her. It still brought painful memories. For Lucario, he experienced similar feelings as his partner; that whole event had effectively traumatized him and he’d rather not remember it too much. Lycanroc didn’t know the whole story, but he could sense that it was a touchy subject for them and moved on.

“Right. There is another thing, however. Sylveon has a mysterious extrasensory power called the Dimensional Scream, correct?”

That slightly alerted them, but Lycanroc held a paw up to calm them.

“I am aware that information is very tightly kept between you and the members of the Wigglytuff Guild as well as many residents of Treasure Town. I had done some digging around to find this information out, and it wasn't easy obtaining it.” The Rock-type eyed the both of them, “I’m searching for two… Pokémon. I’ve been searching for them for a long time and I believe they may be here. For now, I only wish to borrow Sylveon’s ability for a moment. I’d rather she see and hear the truth with her own eyes and ears before I say anymore. I want the both of you to trust me as I want to trust you with this information.”

The pair were silent for a moment, exchanging glances with each other before Lucario inclined his head in agreement. The Fairy-type echoed the notion and turned to the Rock-type. Sylveon stepped closer to Lycanroc as Lucario stood by.

“…Alright," she said, staring Lycanroc in the eye seriously, "Tell me when you’re ready.” Lycanroc nodded as well.

"I always am."


End file.
